Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins ON THE BRINK after dropping game three in Philadelphia

Episode Date: April 23, 2026

The Penguins fell to the Flyers once again in game three, and now they're one loss away from being swept out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Patrick and Hunter begin the show recapping what went wrong in... the Penguins' 5-2 loss in game three against the Flyers. Whether it was a lack of discipline, falling into the same bad habits, or the Flyers once again shutting them down, the Penguins found themselves once again on the losing end. (0:00) Then, diving deeper into the series, they discuss who is at fault. While it's not just one person or decision, there are a lot of people to blame, including the rookie head coach, some veteran players, and everything in between. (13:15) Finally, they talk about what will have to change for the Penguins to get just one win to keep their season alive. (27:59) Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Indeed Now, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get two-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. 5-Hour ENERGY The Cotton Candy flavor is HERE on https://5hourEnergy.com or Amazon, crack open Cotton Candy 5-hour ENERGY®️ shot today! Hims To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, hair loss, weight loss, and more, visit https://Hims.com/LOCKEDONNHL. Warby Parker It’s the perfect time to upgrade your glasses for spring. Buy one prescription pair and get 20% off any additional prescription pairs at https://WarbyParker.com/LOCKEDONNHL.   FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Well, season's almost over. Maybe. Let's talk about it on a brand new locked on penguins. You're locked on penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome in to the Thursday edition of the Locked on Penguins podcast.
Starting point is 00:00:30 I am one of your hosts, Patrick Damp. You can follow me across all social media platforms. at Synonym 4 Wet, joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. We thank you, as always, our everyday listeners, for making this part of your daily routine. And there is no reason to delay the inevitable. Pittsburgh Penguins lose game three to the Philadelphia Flyers, 5 to 2. And it was not a pretty sight to behold.
Starting point is 00:01:03 the penguins. They play well for about 15 minutes. They go back to their old stubborn ways. Then they get involved with all the extracurriculars and all of the physical play. And the Flyers unsurprisingly take advantage of that. They put the finishing touches on this game. And now the penguins are one loss away from being swept out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Yep, I think that's a great place to start because that first period, and I put it on social media, that was the best period that they had played all series long. And I know people, it is a very low bar considering what we watched for the first two games of this series. But for the first time, actually saw them gain the zone with control, get some good scoring chances.
Starting point is 00:01:57 And oh, yeah, they were also dumping the puck deep, outworking their defense. defensemen getting the cycle game going and getting more chances they were out shooting the flyers at one point in that first period 7 to 2 and then 9 to 4 remember pat earlier this year is they only had three shots in a first period well they did way more than that in this one that was only 10 minutes in basically they get the early power play really nice tick tack passing for a vgeny malkin and make it one nothing and it was like okay it looks like they're finally starting to understand this is how you can beat the flyer system. I know that one was on the power play, but even at five on five, they were still getting
Starting point is 00:02:37 some solid chances. Stu Skinner also made a couple of really nice saves at the end of the first period. Then the second period comes and they completely flip the script, if you will, because obviously that has been their playoff slogan going into this. And they went back to playing the exact same way they were playing for the first two games of the series. They had no interest in. dumping it deep. They had no interest in outworking the flyers down low. They were trying those
Starting point is 00:03:06 little dumb passes to the middle of the ice, which were getting picked off pretty easily, fueling the flyers in transition. And they kept being stubborn. And they didn't want to go back to what worked in the first period. That should have showed the team, hey, the blueprint is there. And then obviously you see what happened with the extracurricular activities. They're turned into a absolute circus there with the Travis Kinectney and the BrianWitt situation. And this is the only thing I will say on this path because I don't want to turn this entire thing into officiating and all that. Do I think Travis Kineckney should have gotten the extra penalty there?
Starting point is 00:03:45 Yes, because they missed the elbow. But as we all know in the playoffs, refs miss things. This is not a new thing. This is not a penguin specific thing. They miss things. And you as a team, you have to have the mantra of, hey, you know what we just play through it because i understand why brian russ snapped like you don't see him ever do that during his career and i get it but after that obviously you have that parade of the penalty
Starting point is 00:04:10 box it's like you know what you need to have that mike sullivan you know mantra of just play and they got away from that and the flyers capitalize on the power play i want i want to say this too sorry to step on you here hunter but the thing that i will say about that is i agree with with your point about the officiating. There's a lot of reasons that the Pittsburgh Penguins are down 3-0 in this series. Officiating is not one of them. You can justifiably be angry at the officiating. I am because I've been angry at the officiating pretty much the entirety of my NHL and Penguins fandom
Starting point is 00:04:45 because it's inconsistent. It doesn't make any sense. They seem to make it up as they go. It's a league-wide issue. It gets worse every year. There's no use in complaining about it. Now, like, there's just so many, like, other big reasons why they are down in this series. But to that end, this is a tale as old as time, a song as old as rhyme.
Starting point is 00:05:08 When you go into Philadelphia, it is a hostile place to play. Oh, yeah. I'm going to say something wild here, but you'll probably see where I'm going. It is like a Roman cathedral in there because, or Coliseum, because they want blood. They want violence. Oh, yeah. Physical hockey. That is Philadelphia Flyers branded hockey.
Starting point is 00:05:31 It is what they do. So you should have known, especially the likes of Sidney Crosby, Chris LaTang, Brian Rust. And I'm going to exclude of Gennie Malkin for right now because there were several moments last night where the Flyers tried to poke and prod him. And Genobot just shut off. He just stood straight up and looked at the ref as if to say, I'm not the one doing this. I'm not the one doing this. But the rest of them, you know that they're going to poke and prod at you. You know they're going to come after you.
Starting point is 00:06:01 You know that they're going to throw hits. The penguins played right into it. They retaliated. They slashed. They hooked. They punched. They cross-checked. And they paid the price.
Starting point is 00:06:15 So you can be mad at the officiating. I am myself. But it's not the reason that they are down three nothing. It's not the reason they lost game three. the penguins have to be smarter. I agree. And again, it goes away from that just play mantra
Starting point is 00:06:31 that Mike Sullivan instilled in a lot of those core guys's heads. Like, for a bit last night, I felt like I was watching a late stage Dan Bilesma game with the way that some of these players were just losing their minds. And no, it wasn't 2012 level.
Starting point is 00:06:47 Nothing. And I mean, nothing is going to compare to that series. I think both fan base is going to agree on that. but you can't be baited into stupid things. And as for, again, the circus, I know that a couple of your top penalty killers are in the penalty box, but you know what, Pat, to me,
Starting point is 00:07:07 go out there and kill the penalty, go back and seize the momentum, go back and keep the lead and keep doing what you were doing in the first period. But they weren't able to do that. Like, that's where they lost it to me. They didn't go back to doing what they were. were doing. They let it get the best of them. And they weren't able to ever get the momentum back.
Starting point is 00:07:29 And they also had a ton of power plays last night. Yeah, they had two power play goals. But a lot of those other power plays, they flat out stunk on. And they got back into it a bit later on in the game to make it three, two. And then lo and behold, Anthony Nantha, who is having a dreadful, and I mean a dreadful series, puck over the glass penalty, just completely wipes out the small momentum that they had from that goal because they were trying to string together a couple of shifts there. But you take a dumb penalty and the flyers make you pay. And that was basically the game. And more than likely the series, because they literally need an utter miracle right now if they want to come back in this series. There's a reason why only four teams have ever come back from
Starting point is 00:08:08 a zero three deficit in in ageal history. And it's just because it's almost impossible to do. Like you need a lot to go your way. Again, you literally, by definition, need a miracle. To that point of the flyers again, just go, credit to the flyers real quick here. They continue to play their game. They are clogging everything up. And the penguins, they still don't want to adjust to it. That's a good hockey team over there. They are playing a really strong system that suits them.
Starting point is 00:08:36 And the penguins don't want to make adjustments to it for a full 60 minutes. That continues to be a big difference in this series, as well as the fact that a lot of their top guys have just flat out stunk. This is very true. But to your point about the system, this is the biggest difference in disparity in this series. The Flyers are playing their game majority of the night. They get away from it every now and then, but that's to be expected in the National Hockey League. Teams push back. Teams figure it out.
Starting point is 00:09:11 Sometimes you make mistakes. But for the vast majority of the first three games, the Flyers have played a system. They have stuck to it. and they have played it nearly to perfection. The penguins, on the other hand, in the first 10 or so minutes of the game, I'll say 15 minutes of the game, they were playing the way they needed to play
Starting point is 00:09:30 to break this flyer system. There were some times where they crossed the blue line with possession, but it's because they took what the flyers gave them. They saw the opening, they saw the lane, they took the lane. If it wasn't there, they were gaining the red line, they were putting it deep, they were going and retrieving the puck,
Starting point is 00:09:47 and they were starting a cycle game. On top of that, especially the first 10 minutes, every chance they got, they were putting the puck towards the net or on the net. And it resulted in a one-nothing lead. And as soon as the second period began, before the parade to the penalty box, the penguins got right back to what they were doing in games one and two. They were trying to make passes through the neutral zone. They were trying to carry it into traffic. and the flyers were just turning it over in saying if you want to skate right into this, you can skate right into this.
Starting point is 00:10:22 We're not going to stop you. And then the parade to the penalty box happens. And the team completely loses its cool. So that is a good spot for us to end this first segment. Speaking of discipline, we do have to talk about the rookie head coach Dan Mews and his performance and the team's performance through the first three games of this. opening round series. We will do that when we get back right after this. But first, we've got a couple of sponsors to get to beginning with five hour energy. If you've got a sweet tooth like I do,
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Starting point is 00:12:59 Sedanafil is the generic version of Viagra. Viagra is a licensed and registered trademark of Vietris, Specialty LLC. Hems is not affiliated or endorsed by Vietris. Welcome back to the Thursday edition of Locked on. I'm Patrick Damp right alongside my good pal, Hunter Hodes. And before we get back into it, if you never miss an episode of Locked-on Penguins, now is the time to make it official. Join our Locked-on Everydayer Club and get access to ad-free audio,
Starting point is 00:13:35 our members-only Discord, and so much more. It's all built for you, our most loyal fans. Just head to Locked-on Podcasts.com slash Everydayer Club to learn more. All right, let's dive back into this hunter because the penguins are on the brink of being swept out of the Stanley Cup playoffs by their most hated rival Philadelphia Flyers. But we do have to talk about the head coach. You said this. I have said this on social media. Last night, yes, it does not reach the level of the 2012 Penguins Flyers series.
Starting point is 00:14:14 That was a three ring circus on top of. of a five ring circus in the center of hell. It was absolute insanity. But this did feel a lot like the late stage Dan Bilesma Penguins. There was zero emotional regulation. There was next to no discipline. And the players just seem to kind of be doing whatever they want. But here's where I want this path to diverge. I do think there was some thing said after game one by Eric Carlson that I think has kind of described the whole series. And it was the fact that a lot of this team cares a little bit too much. They've all, a lot of them have been to the mountaintop.
Starting point is 00:15:03 A lot of them have been in this league for two decades. They know what this feels like. They know that they're running out of time. And now it feels like they know that and they're playing extremely desperate, which might lead to the first time head coach being a little timid. Timid, I think, is a good word for it. I think spooked is another good word for it. He's been humbled in these three games.
Starting point is 00:15:29 There's no other way to look at it. He has been completely humbled in his first postseason experience. Now, do I think he's going to learn from this? Absolutely, I do. He has done a great job overall with this team this year. He has pushed virtually every right button, especially during the regular season. And yeah, let's face it, he has been badly outcoached in this series.
Starting point is 00:15:51 Rect Tocket literally has him in his back pocket for the way that he is just coaching circles around him. But, you know, for as intelligent as Dan Muses, I do think this is going to be a big learning experience for him. Assuming the penguins don't pull off the miracle comeback here, Pat, I think he will take those learning experiences into the off season as well for a second season. Because I've seen a little bit of this out there as well, Pat. No, they are not firing damn use after a potential four-game sweep in the playoffs. This is his first year. They exceeded expectations tenfold.
Starting point is 00:16:24 Flyers also did, by the way, let's be real. But they're not firing damn use. Like if this were the opposite and say the Flyers, again, they were potentially on the verge of getting swept. I don't personally, I don't think Flyers fans will be calling for Rick Talkett's head just because it's his first year and he guided them in and all that. Again, maybe I'm dead wrong on that. Maybe a couple Flyers fans can let me. down the comment section or in my DMs, but that's how I see it.
Starting point is 00:16:49 But I just don't think Danis had a really good read on the team in general during this series. There have been moments where I had wanted him to call a timeout, and he is simply not to at least just calm everyone down, talk to his team, make sure they have that just play mantra, but he hasn't done it. Like I thought last night, Pat, like during the circus,
Starting point is 00:17:12 I think that would, like, honestly, after the power play goal, even, Maybe this is a hot take to some. Call your time out there. Like, yeah, maybe it's a weird spot, but I know the crowd's in a frenzy, but calm everyone down and say like, hey, that's not going to snowball here. I know they didn't kill the penalty, but I felt like that could have been a good moment to at least call time out to get everyone together and to be like, hey, yeah, something bad happened, but let's just keep playing. Let's get back to what we were doing in the first period. But they allowed all of that to snowball into the rest of their game where they just simply,
Starting point is 00:17:45 never recovered. You know, they've adjusted a little bit, like you've seen it on display, but they just can't do it for a full game. And that's where I think it's, again, on the coach, and it's also on the players, because there are a lot of players in this series who have simply not been good enough. I have talked about Cindy Crosby. Number one, I don't think he is fully healthy. Number two, the Flyers have also done a marvelous job neutralizing him. I've not seen Sid's ever struggled like this against the flyers before, you know, again, he missed that wide open net in the third period where I'm like, okay, it is not your night and is not your series when Sid is missing easy chances like that. I discuss Anthony Mantha Pat. You and I were talking
Starting point is 00:18:24 about him potentially being resigned to a short-term contract. The way that he's gone right now, there's no chance that I'm doing that. Again, I'm not trying to overreact to a short game sample, but he now has no goals in 17 career playoff games during his career. That is simply not good enough. and he has been a complete ghost in all of these games except taking bad penalties. So that's that's another thing. If you're watching us on YouTube here, you see it on our rundown. Muse are the players to blame.
Starting point is 00:18:51 Anthony Mantha, we can talk about the over the glass penalty. I've made my feelings clear on it. I think it's a bit of a ridiculous penalty. Just because I think 99 times out of 100 when a player clears the puck over the glass, it's not intentional. He's not trying to stop play and get a, break, he just lifts the puck over the glass.
Starting point is 00:19:13 You deserve it when you do something stupid like that, though. But yes, and on that one, there was no need for it. It was just wholly unnecessary. But on top of that, Ristolainen's goal last night, if you go back and watch the footage, Mantha barely pressures Ristelainen. And Ristelainen isn't Kail McCar. He's not Eric Carlson. Hell, he's not even Chris Lattang.
Starting point is 00:19:37 and Anthony Mantha just kind of one hand lazily puts his stick out, let's wrist a line and go. And yeah, Stu Skinner's got to make the save, but it shouldn't have gotten to that point. And it's funny because during the regular season, Anthony Mantha earned himself a whole lot of money. Through three games in the playoffs, he's spent a bit of it.
Starting point is 00:20:03 So I think if you're Kyle Dubus in the, the penguins this off season, you're shaking his hands saying congrats on the big payday. We'll see you when we see you on the schedule. That's what it looks like right now, man, because he has not been very good. Again, I'm not trying to pin this all on a couple of guys. As I said earlier in the episode, you could give me almost any player on the team and tell me that they've had a bad series, and I would most likely agree with you. Outside of a select few, I think in my opinion, Afghani Malkin has had a pretty good series.
Starting point is 00:20:35 he has shown up and I do hope that this leads to a one-year contract for him after this is all said and done. I still think Stu Skinner has shown up. Did I want him to save a couple of the goals last night? Yes, I did. But he also made a lot of really big 10-bell saves to at least keep them in it and have them at a puncher's chance at coming back. So in the end, it kind of balances himself out. I think overall through three games, he has been pretty solid. If you want to say, Blake LaZont, especially on the PK, okay, sure, but you know, Chinakov, he has not been good. I still think he's going to get quite a paid interest, that really so. He has not been very good.
Starting point is 00:21:15 I don't think Brian Rust has been very good in this series. You know, even Ben Kindle, Pat, he has really struggled in this series. And I don't think he's going to be scratched for Game 4. I think they're going to play him. But you can see, like, he's been really fighting it in this series. He's going to be totally fine, by the way. concerned. You know, Sam Gerard, he has been awful. Crystal Tang, we all know he has been bad. Connor Clifton, he was terrible last night. He has had a brutal series for this team. Even
Starting point is 00:21:46 Eric Carlson has not been up to par compared to what we saw during the regular season. Parker Wildersman, I think, has been okay at best, but still, like, not good. I can keep going, if you want me to. I mean, in terms of players that have actually been good for the Penguins in this series. It is on all of them. The players and the coaching staff as to why they are down 3-0 and have a chance of being swept in Philadelphia in game four. I didn't see this coming. This is the connective tissue to all of it that I think connects it all together. Is that the players are really struggling in this series, whether it's lack of skill, lack of will, lack of effort, whatever you want to attribute it to, I will gladly sit and listen to your reasoning.
Starting point is 00:22:32 because when you're down 3-0, nothing is going your way. But I also think Mews being a first-time head coach, having a team that is laden with superstars and future Hall of Famers, I do think he has been a tad too friendly to the players. It's not saying he's got to go torts level and start calling them out in the media and trying to fight the other team and arguing with reporters, but there are a lot of players who probably should have been taken off of the first power play unit because it's been putrid.
Starting point is 00:23:11 There are a lot of players who need to see significantly reduced minutes. I look at Chris LaTang. I look at Sam Gerard. I'm going to have an unpopular one here, but Brian Rust. Brian Rust has not been great. And then after last night, listen, I understand getting elbowed in the chops will set just about anybody off. Oh, yeah. And Brian Rust is one of the more underrated penguins in the history of the franchise, but the reaction was not proportionate, and that is what kicked everything off. And listen, if he elbows you in the chops, you give him a cross check or a jab to the side of the head or whatever, you lock up with them. I'm here for that.
Starting point is 00:23:55 Let's not pretend like Brian Rust was an innocent angel on this one. He went UFC ground and pound on track. Travis Kineckney. Good reference. Yeah, Kineckney doesn't deserve any benefit of the doubt, but Brian Rust was very much in the wrong. So to bring this back on track, I do think Dan Mews has been a little too timid, a little too friendly, and you've got to make some big changes here because at this point, do you want your players to feel good, or do you actually want to give yourself a chance
Starting point is 00:24:28 to dig out of this? the thing is how many more cards do you have left to play here in your deck? I don't think there's too many. So that's something that he's going to have to grapple with. What can you do to win one game? And that's how you've got to approach this. One game at a time. You win game four on Saturday, you drag them back to Pittsburgh.
Starting point is 00:24:52 If you win that game, you go back to Philadelphia. And you have a chance to drag them right back to Pittsburgh for game seven. again, I'm getting way too far ahead of myself, but your focus is on winning this one game to extend your season. Because, yeah, this has been embarrassing. It's embarrassing for all the players. It's embarrassing for the coaching staff, considering what this team did this season. These three games, I don't recognize the team that I saw during the regular season. The, you know, the quote unquote, you know, the heart that I saw, you know, that resilience. That's the word I'm looking for.
Starting point is 00:25:30 The resilience. It has not been there in any of these games. And that was a huge hallmark for this team. You and I, throughout the season, we rarely questioned, you know, effort, heart resilience, because we would see it on a nightly basis. You know, yeah, they blew a lot of leads in December, but, you know, they were still good enough to get those leads. But, like, the hallmarks of what made this team during the regular season have completely
Starting point is 00:25:53 gone away in the playoffs. And, yeah, part of it is on them because they are not playing well. Another part of that, I still will say, yeah, it's on the flyers because that's a good team over there. And, you know, they're doing what they need to do to advance to the second round. So again, we'll see how many more cards he has left to play. I think that's a nice little segue to our final segment for what must change. I guess Pat, we can juggle the lines a little bit more. What cards does Dan Mews have left to play?
Starting point is 00:26:23 Let's talk about it when we come back right after this. But we've got one more sponsor to get to, and that is game time. There is nothing like seeing playoff hockey live, the intensity, the rivalries, the crowd. It is just different when you're in the building. Playoffs are some of the best moments in sports, and being there in person is something every fan should experience. Game time makes it incredibly easy to find tickets, even for those high demand playoff games, in just a few taps. And with the game time app guarantee, you know that you're getting 100% on. authentic tickets delivered on time at best price.
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Starting point is 00:27:51 Download on the GameTime app today. Last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. finishing up the Thursday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I am Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes. What cards does Dan Mews in the Pittsburgh Penguins have left to play? Frankly, not many, not many at all when you are staring down a 3-0 series deficit the way they are. But I do think I'm going to start with this one. It is time to reunite if Gennie Malkin, and Igor Chinikov.
Starting point is 00:28:29 The two of them have shown they can play together. Chinikov needs a spark. Malkin is one of the few players in this series who has decided to show up. So you might as well use that to your advantage and try to kickstart the offense. That's fine. And if you want to put Mantha back on the third line with Prezzo, and they have shown some really good chemistry throughout this year with Kendall, that's fine too.
Starting point is 00:28:51 I'm still curious if Soderblom does come back into the lineup for game four, since he was a healthy scratch for game three, we'll just have to see what Mews looks at because they have an off day today in Philadelphia. They're set to practice in Philly on Friday before game four in Philly on Saturday. But, you know, I don't know if they're going to switch around to the fourth line defensively. That's right. You've got to start making a change or two there. I think everyone has had enough of the Gerard-Latang pair.
Starting point is 00:29:20 Even when they were playing really well in that first period, Gerard and Latang were still making really bad decisions. decisions with the puck and they were being hemmed in their own end and it's like all right dan i get it there was some legit legit momentum excuse me at the end of the regular season going into the playoffs where that pair was actually playing well the i test supported it and the underlying number supported it but now rig games in they have been an absolute disaster in this series where they can't exit cleanly gerard is all over the place we've seen letang obviously he's been slowing down for a bit now he's not playing well in this series and also that's not
Starting point is 00:29:57 other thing at the end of the game. I thought, I mean, no disrespect to Tanger, but the fact that Chinakov is not on that six on five over Latang is absolutely insane. That's another bad decision in my opinion from Dan Hughes. Chinikov has to be on that unit with the release that he has. I think that's just a blunder from him. But you got to separate that second pair. Jordan Latang need to be on their own pairs. I would take Connor Clifton out and put Ilya Solovian over him. I know some people will say Jackson and Iveny. We've gotten some comments about putting Kevin Hayes in the lineup. I don't really know how much that's going to do. Yeah, I know he played ahead, a nice few games at the end of the regular season,
Starting point is 00:30:34 but for a team that already looks, you know, a bit slower, at least a bit slower than the Flyers, I think you're going to get a little bit even slower by putting Kevin Hayes in the lineup. I think that's just, I mean, if it was, if it was my decision, and I'm making, if I were to make a change it forward, which I really don't think, the, the, the 12 that you have, fine. I think you just got to find better combinations. Right. I mean, I would go Avery Hayes or Rutger Magrorty before I would go Kevin Hayes just because I think you get more of a spark from one of those two. But I don't think you need to make massive changes to the forward group. Here's here's how I would move the defense around.
Starting point is 00:31:17 I would have Connor Clifton in the press box. I would play Ilya Soloviov. I would put him with Sam Gerard. And that would be your second pairing. And your third pairing would be Chris Latang and Ryan Shea. And you would shelter the ever-living hell out of those two because he's missing a lot of the smoke in this series because it goes under the radar. Shea has not been very good himself. He's been fine to not good. Fine.
Starting point is 00:31:46 But just because of all of the other disaster classes happening on this roster, he's kind of flying under the radar. But I mean, at this point, I know that he is a proud player. I know that he is a franchise legend, but Chris LaTang is a third pairing defenseman right now. Maybe next year and through the offseason, he can work his way back to being a second pairing defenseman by changing some training and coming back with a different mentality. But right now, he's got to be on your third pair. Yeah, I agree.
Starting point is 00:32:18 I think you need to cut his minutes a little bit for this game. I mean, you and I were talking about this throughout the season a lot where we felt like Latang's minutes needed to be cut a little bit. And yeah, he was playing a little bit better down the stretch. You and I talked about it. But now in this series, he's reverted back to what we've seen for a good chunk of this season where he just lost another step to his game. Goaltending wise, I'm still starting Stewart Skinner.
Starting point is 00:32:41 I know people will say, oh, put Artie in or they have Murashav in as the emergency goal. You can put him in. No, I really don't want to do that. And I feel like that's just kind of like a bad punishment to Stu Skinner, because he's been one of your better players in this series, if not arguably your best player. So there's just no reason to make a change in goal. If you want to change on the power play units,
Starting point is 00:33:06 as you and I have talked about this week, Pat, I think that is fine as well. Again, there's just only so many cards that you have left to play, you know, lineup-wise, you know, combinations-wise, all that. You've seen the blueprint on at least how to get a lead in this series for one period. You went away from it.
Starting point is 00:33:30 If you can do it for 60 minutes, obviously that's huge. You'll have a shot to at least extend this series by one more game going back to Pittsburgh. But I need to see it first. I need to see those adjustments for a full 60 minute effort. I think I've said everything I've needed to say about this game overall. This is how I feel. I'm not mad, Pat.
Starting point is 00:33:52 I'm just disappointed. that's where I'm at as well. And unfortunately, we got to wait a whole another day until we see Game 4, which is Saturday night in Philadelphia at 8 o'clock. But that means Hunter and I will be back with a new episode for you on Friday to get you ready for that game. And we may have a little bit of a debate club episode coming up for you on Friday to get you prepared for that game.
Starting point is 00:34:22 So make sure you're on board with a game. us everywhere, wherever you get your podcasts as well as YouTube. But for now, for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you as always for tuning in. And we will be back on Friday.

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